Beautiful Nightmare
by Angel of Shadow and Snow
Summary: When Rouge returned to her apartment that night, she would have never believed that the Ultimate Lifeform would be finding some long-overdue comfort in her arms. Shadouge. Rated for reasons. Criticise as you see fitting. Should I continue?
1. Chapter 1: Revelation

Beautiful Nightmare  
(slight SPOILER warning and a bit of fan ad-libbing _(improvisation to explain something)_)

_It has been almost a year since Mephiles the Dark had been defeated. As for whether the terrible, tempestuous future that they had seen would come to pass: that was still unknown.  
When the flames of hope were extinguished, the events of that particular adventure had been extinguished too....or most of them at least....  
_

The city lights burned neon and the streets seemed to gleam gold beneath them but that was nothing compared to the smooth, black velvet night-sky above studded with a thousand diamond-studded stars.  
Club Rouge was closed for the evening, not because the night-life was bad for business or anything; just because the club's sultry owner knew that her two house guests hated the loud, pumping music.  
Yes, give Shadow the Hedgehog and E-123 Omega the cries of a thousand warriors in battle, missiles launching and guns exploding into fire but never dance music.

Rouge sank down on to the bed and gave a lingering glance to the call-phone embedded into her glove as if she expected G.U.N. to have the nerve to try and call her again. The day had been tough and the missions had been endless.  
"But the pay has been _great_," she purred happily to herself producing a very large pear-shaped diamond from her chest plate. The gem sparkled under the dim light of her bedroom and cast tiny glittering rainbows on to the deep purple walls. The bat's aqua eyes glittered too as her glossy pink lips curved into a satisfied smirk. "Ah yes...just like your new owner, you are _beautiful_, aren't you, precious?"  
Her eyes remained fixed to that shimmering stone until it was carefully put away with the rest of her sparkling collection.

She folded her wings into her back with a grunt. She was aching all over.  
Her soft tanned skin was reddish beneath the sleek catsuit she peeled from her body. The feeling of a silky nightgown and robe was heavenly. The huntress' reflection smiled back at her from the mirror. She finger-combed the flicks of white fur at her neck, suddenly noticing an alarming bruise like a blotchy red rose beneath them.  
"Ahh!" she gasped, fingering it tentatively. "I was wondering why it hurt so damn much-"

"LIFEFORM: ROUGE THE BAT! DETECTED IN THE VICINITY. STATUS: ALLY! THREAT: MINIMAL!"

Rouge let out a cry and jumped around. "What the hell!? Oh thank God, it's only you, Omega."  
The giant robot flashed his eyes at her from the doorway in recognition, twisting his head from side to side. "YOUR MISSION WAS SUCCESSFUL?"  
She gave a bemused smirk. "Successful? Indeed. Stress free? Not exactly."  
"SENSORS DETECT PHYSICAL PAIN."  
Rouge pressed an un-gloved hand affectionately to Omega's warm, whirring processor. She had such a fondness for that robot. Despite his fixed, cold, metallic speech, he always seemed to be able to express concern for his team-mates.  
"I'll be fine, Omega. I just need a little sleep. Maybe you should take a recharge too."  
"COMMAND CONFIRMED. AFFIRMATIVE."  
He took up his usual sentinel position at the door of the living room and folded back into recharge mode. In a few whirrs and clicks, the mighty robot was reduced to a lifeless, gleaming red Rubik's cube.  
Rouge smiled gently. She loved that big metal lug. He always spoke politely to her, never lied, never stared at her breasts, (a relief from most organic Mobian men) and of course he was willing to do anything for her. Even travel ten years into the future to bring a lifeline to a friend...another certain team-mate....

Speaking of which.  
Rouge's concern suddenly focused on the other occupant of the apartment.  
A flick of her wings, (her _aching _wings), brought her to the open doorway of her guest-room.  
"Hey Shadow, you asleep?" she whispered softly, walking carefully inside. The door cast a weak amber light across the blackened floor and illuminated the figure sprawled out across the bed.  
Ah yes, there he was.  
The ultimate lifeform.  
The world's deadliest weapon.  
A dark hero.  
A demonic creature and some kind of angel at the same time.  
The fearless leader of team dark that was prepared to face Eggman, Mephiles the Dark's army of maniacal clones and ultimately- the whole world. Both the earth and Mobius.  
The fierce, brave, emotionless warrior.

Sleeping like a baby.

She couldn't stop herself from gently creeping inside, alighting down by the hedgehog's bedside.  
Just looking at his face, smooth black fur gently glowing under the weak light and soft tan muzzle relaxed instead of sneering or frowning, brought back vividly beautiful memories.  
Memories of meeting him for the first time, learning of his past, sitting in a room filled with chaos emeralds and despairing but then being rescued. She, of course had done her fair share of rescuing too, Rouge remembered with a smile; the first time she had taken him here to Club Rouge after he had collapsed and watched him sleep.  
She remembered her astonishment at finding him in that pod at Eggman's base, when Team Dark was first brought together, her worry that her old friend might be nothing more than an android and the hope that he wasn't.  
Aqua eyes gazed down at vermillion and ebony quills, falling swiftly back over a handsome head.  
No, Eggman couldn't replicate something like that.  
Maybe the reason she was so drawn to him was because he had so much in common with the jewels she lusted after. Cold. Hard. Durable. Well-crafted. Majestic. Precious. Mysterious. Beautiful?  
His hover-skates were tossed out across the floor behind her and his gloves and bracelets lay on the bedside table. Somehow he had managed to get them back after their little tiff with Mephiles.  
Rouge ran a finger along the delicate gold rim of one.

She remembered Sonic handing it to her, the blue blur's eyes filled with regret and sorrow. Sorrow that couldn't compare to the kind that shot through her as she gazed out the window of Space Colony Ark.  
True, he had been annoying, distant and the chaos emeralds had been her main concern since day one.  
But his past...his tragic past that she came to learn...he saved her...he saved the _world. _  
For once in her life, Rouge's had mind slipped away to something better than jewels. Something much more precious.

She smiled to herself again. He was back now. He was alive, real and here lying in her guest room.

As she bent down to his face, another memory found its way back to her.  
A beach on a sunny day.  
Staring at the pink hearts on the tips of her shoes.  
Turning under Omega's shadow.  
It was so unfair to her. Shadow did everything he could to protect the world and all they did was scorn him. He thought he was alone. She had to let him know that he wasn't:

"_Shadow? Even if you believe everyone in the world will be against you, know that I'll always remain by your side. Remember that."  
_

And was that a little flutter she felt in her heart when he replied, in a tone that was so much gentler than his usual gruff, solemn monotone: "I will" ?  
Shadow was unlike any other person she'd ever known. What was it about him that made her feel...like this.  
Curiosity and childish longing was suddenly aroused in her, she leaned her lips in close to his.  
_What would this feel like, I wonder? _A giggle almost erupted in her mouth. A _mischievous giggle. "_Would he wake up? Would he blush like Knucklehead?" she thought, coyly, leaning in a little.

"Ahh, Shadow...Shadow the hedgehog...Shadow the Ultimate Lifeform..._Shadow my hero...Shadow my lo-"  
_No.  
She snapped her head away. "What the hell am I doing? That guy knows how to stand on his own two feet. He doesn't _need _me. We're just team-mates. _Allies. _Friends, even."  
Rouge flew to the door, suddenly remembering how much her body ached, but took a lingering glance back at the bed and its dark faced occupant's long slim body...suddenly thinking about how that body felt against hers...

_Shadow grasping her arm and pulling her close to him, before shouting: "Chaos Control!"....  
Shadow on top of her, shielding her from Omega's blast.....  
Shadow catching her as she fell, holding her tightly against his chest like he was never going to let go... _

The ivory bat clapped a hand to her muzzle in shock, feeling her face heat up. Oh no, thinking of that moody, amnesiac hedgehog did _not _just make her blush!

She gently shut the door and scurried back to her bedroom. Her head was swimming with thoughts again. Swimming? No, _drowning _seemed like a more appropriate word.  
"No, I do not need this after a day like _that_," she moaned, massaging her neck.  
But all it took was the feeling of soft silken sheets against her wings and a fluffy pillow under her head to put the huntress straight to sleep....

* * *

"Maria!"

Rouge's eyes shot open.  
Oh no, not again.

This had been happening since the moment he had moved in. At first he slept peacefully. Then Rouge had started to notice him twitching in his sleep, wincing a little and fidgeting.

Then the whimpering started.  
He would cry out in his sleep sometimes. Sometimes about Mephiles. Sometimes about Black Doom. Mostly about Maria, his beloved friend.  
Always the same strangled cries of despair and torment. Rouge felt she could never help him rid himself of. She felt embarrassed confronting him in case it brought back any more bad memories for him and he normally stopped before she ever needed to wake him. At first she would just snort to herself and think: "Geez, the echidna was never this complicated."  
But after a while it started to break her heart, listening to his anguished little murmurs...he seemed so _vulnerable_.  
And they continued.  
They were usually quiet, muffled...so that only the bat-girl's sensitive ears could just barely pick them up.

But not this time. These were _screams. _

Rouge leapt out of bed and shot down the corridor to the guest room. Thankfully, the commotion had not woken their robot friend from his stasis-mode.  
Shadow was thrashing about wildly, kicking the blankets aside, pulling at his quills and throwing his head back as if in pain.  
"Maria! Maria! Come back!"  
Rouge grabbed his arms, trying to hold him still. "Shadow! Jesus, Shadow! Calm down!"

His ruby eyes shot open, sending a chill up Rouge's spine.  
The hedgehog stared at her, at all his surroundings, chest heaving with each hasty, ragged breath.  
"Wh-what?!"

He gave a little shake to free himself from her grip and sat up, knuckling his forehead. "What the?"  
"You were having a nightmare," Rouge sighed. "A bad dream. You were shouting..."  
Shadow's face was emotionless for a moment and then he turned away, hunching his shoulders and sticking out his quills. "I am sorry if I awoke you but I think it would be beneficial for us both to return to slumber."  
Rouge cocked her head to one side and felt her heart sink a little. "Shadow?"  
"Rouge," he turned back, whispering in his usual icy tone. "Is there something wrong?"  
Her ears drooped a little. "Not with me, with you. Shadow, is there anything...on your mind...you...maybe wanna...talk...about?"  
He stared at her for a moment with a mixture of confusion and what seemed like surprise but said nothing.  
Very carefully, she moved her hand to his shoulder.  
"It can't be easy for you."  
He sat motionless, still staring.  
"You having the past that you do. All those horrible memories. You try to do good for the world but all everyone ever does is hurt you and fear you."  
Shadow's eyes dropped to the floor and he remained silent but he didn't try to shrug her hand away.  
Feeling a little braver, Rouge went on.  
"After seeing that future too...making the world your enemy..."  
She cleared her throat a little, suddenly adopting a lighter tone. "I used to have nightmares all the time when I was little, you know. About all the things I didn't like...school, time-outs, the monster I thought was in my closet...now, I have nightmares about things I do like, _people _I do like...being hurt and..." She dropped her head a little. "...disappearing forever...w-what do you dream about?"

Shadow shut his eyes and furrowed his brow. He remained stone silent.  
Rouge couldn't tell whether he was upset or angry or annoyed, but it was a relief to her that he didn't seem to care when she gently tightened her grip on his shoulder. This felt useless with her doing all the talking. She took a chance.  
"D-do you dream about...Maria?"

As if she didn't know the answer.  
There was a tense silence but then Shadow gave a solemn nod. "Yes."  
Rouge swallowed, her dry throat burning a little. "So...is there anything...you need to sa-?"  
"No," he said sharply, turning away with a gruff sigh. "No, there's nothing. You should sleep now."  
Rouge felt an unfamiliar sinking feeling in her chest, one that she could hardly control on her face. Her glossy lips fell into a frown and she shivered underneath the thin silk of her nightgown, suddenly realising how cold the room was.  
"Oh...well, then...if you're sure you're o.k., I'll just..."

The bat turned to go, feeling a little irritated and a lot disappointed, but then a strong gloveless black hand shot out and grabbed her arm.  
"Maria and I," he began hoarsely. "Would speak about our dreams sometimes."  
Rouge slowly sat back down beside him, amazed to hear the dark anti-hero beside her suddenly opening up to her, his red eyes gleaming in the dim light.  
He took a deep breath and sucked air in from behind his teeth. "She would talk about the Earth and how beautiful it was, how beautiful it looked and how she wanted to visit it sometimes. We both often had dreams about it. When Maria had a..."nightmare" and the Professor was too busy to comfort her, I would go to her side and sit with her until she was brave enough to sleep soundly again. Back then, I barely knew of man's cruelty so I had little to have these _nightmares _about...but I dreamed about losing Maria, my only friend...and then that nightmare became a reality."  
He leaned forward a bit with a groan, as if trying to rid himself of a migraine and then went on, before the stunned bat-girl could open her mouth. "Rouge..."  
She brought her eyes to meet his, rubies diving into aqua blue. "Yes Shadow?" For once in her life, a confident, flirtacious, seductive voice was reduced to a bare, warbling whisper. His darkened, aggressive eyes bore into hers and sent shivers up her spine.  
"When you said that you would dream about "people disappearing forever"...were you referring to...me?"  
She didn't know why, but at that moment, something inside her snapped. Her large blue eyes were suddenly glistening with tears and her lips trembled uncontrollably. She tried to smile coyly as she always would and her voice sparkled with her first breath: "Oh Shadow...you..."  
_Then a single scene, staring out the window of Space Colony Ark into the stars, grasping the gold bracelet of her brave, brave partner and thinking that she'd never see him again. That she would never see that strange, moody, dark-faced hedgehog that Eggman had introduced her to and that from the moment their eyes met, she knew she would always have a soft spot for... _

"Oh Shadow!"  
Without thinking, she leaned out and wrapped her arms firmly around the hedgehog's torso, burying her face in his smooth, sleek fur and pressing her face against his thin, muscular chest and soft puffle of white fur. He was warm. He was real. He was _here.  
_The hedgehog's eyes widened, his mouth agape in a shocked silence.  
Rouge had started to cry. "Shadow, when everyone thought you were dead...and then you were alive again...but I didn't know if it was really _you..._all the androids...and now...now you have to hide because the human world wants to capture you! It's so unfair! And you think you're alone! You're never alone...I'm here for you Shadow! I want to be here for you like you've always been there for me..."  
She paused, breathing heavily and for the first time, realising what exactly she was doing.  
She jumped back like she had just received an electric shock. "Oh..uh Shadow, I'm so sorry," she laughed nervously. "I don't know what came over me!"  
Rouge shivered, wiping some smudged mascara and went to stand up but Shadow held fast to her, eyes staring straight ahead.  
"Shadow? What are you-?"  
His next action would have been enough to shock even Omega speechless. He pulled her forcefully by the arm against him and locked her into a tight hug. Her heart pounded, almost exploding out of her rib-cage.  
His voice was husky in a whisper against her ear. "Maria said that there is nothing to be ashamed about in embracing another. It displays affection."  
Rouge said nothing but gave a little nod. She desperately tried to control the redness suddenly rushing to her face.  
"It's ok to cry, Rouge," he whispered. "And for the record, you're _always _there for me..." He gave a quiet chuckle. "I have grown attached to you, bat-girl...as to why a charming, focused jewel thief like you has found some kind of crazy interest in me and lets a fugitive sleep in her apartment when there is clearly nothing to gain for herself from it, is a mystery to me..." His voice trailed off and his deep scarlet eyes suddenly widened again in sudden realisation.  
Rouge slowly moved her hands along his chest, to his shoulders and finally along the quills on his back. She looked up at him under her eyelashes, allowing her eyes to lock with his again as his arms slid a little more firmly around her back.  
Neither of them spoke. They didn't need to.

"Maria spoke of another thing," Shadow whispered, his face barely lit under the dim light. "That people of this world do to express affection...stay still for a moment."  
Rouge's bosom quivered slightly as her entire body began to shake. Without removing his arms from her waist, he gently took her chin and raised her muzzle to meet his own.  
"Sh-Shadow..."  
"Shhh," he whispered, his breath skimming her lips. "Quiet for a moment...I want to just try this."  
Hesitantly, he moved his head closer until their foreheads were touching, then their noses...then his lips very lightly brushed against hers.  
Rouge let out a tiny cry of surprise and her wings fluttered a little, but she held herself closer to Shadow. "Can I try now?"  
The hedgehog stiffened, but then nodded, wordlessly. She wasn't lacking in experience by any means, but she felt so naive and unsure in the ultimate lifeform's silhouette.  
The huntress moved her hand to the back of Shadow's neck and beckoned his face down to meet her own. Their eyes met one last time, glowing in the darkness' careful caress before Rouge's lips slipped over Shadow's.  
It was strange for them both but at the same time, beautiful.  
Her lips gently pressed against his, returning the feeling she felt burning beneath. After a few seconds...or minutes...Shadow's tongue moved along her lower lip. She could feel the sharpness of his teeth against her. He begged...no, Shadow would not beg...he _demanded_ entrance to which she complied.  
Everything seemed to have left the room. Egos. Pride. Embarassment. Awkwardness.  
Soon their mouths were locked, interwoven in a smooth, passionate dance.  
When their senses emerged from the snare they had been in and their eyes re-opened, they both froze, realising_ where_ exactly they were. Rouge was now on her back, wings spread against the bed-sheets and Shadow towered over her, shielding her in his own shadow.  
"Rouge...," the anti-hero's voice was deep and low like always, but there was a note of hesitance there- like he was afraid. It was dark but his tan muzzle had gone a considerable shade of red.  
The jewel thief beneath him blushed and shivered a little, realising how little she was wearing; just her nightgown and panties, (somehow her robe had managed to slip off to the floor).  
Letting her desire take over, she ran a hand along his arm, marvelling at the unflawed, tight muscles beneath fur she wasn't used to feeling with an un-gloved hand.  
He quivered beneath her touch and seized her wrist, pulling it swiftly away from his arm.  
Rouge trembled. "Sorry, Shadow...I didn't mean to off-"  
She stopped, speechless, as Shadow moved her hand to his cheek, pressing it to his face. She gently ran her fingers along his warm muzzle, entwining it into his fur.  
He gave a soft moan and leaned into her caress.  
She had never seen him like this before- it tantalised her...more than the sight of any jewel could.

They gazed into each other's eyes again. It was impossible to read Shadow's expression, to tell what was going on in the Ultimate Weapon's mind.  
"Shadow?"  
He put a finger to her lips, silencing her, then leaned down and kissed her again.


	2. Chapter 2: Release

Beautiful Nightmare  
_(part two) _

(Warning: There IS mature content in this chapter. If you are a rabid hater of Shadouge or that kind of thing offends, disturbs or disgusts you than I totally respect your beliefs but would highly recommend you stay away from this. Either way, the first part can be read without needing to read this one....and once again I have TRIED MY HARDEST TO KEEP THEM IN CHARACTER! But if you spot any OOCness please don't hesitate to point it out...  
If you are choosing to stay...enjoy...)

It was a night like any other. The streets were quiet save for the distant melancholy buzz of a street lamp or the whistle of the wind as it swept over the gleaming metal walkways that seemed to glitter under the gaze of the stars and glowing moon. And every Mobian in the city was sleeping peacefully...well almost every Mobian.

Upstairs in the guest room of Club Rouge, unknown to all, lay Rouge the bat and that alone wasn't exactly rare...what one might consider strange, shocking and totally unbelievable was that Shadow the Hedgehog was there too...lying above her...kissing her.

She had never, ever thought this would happen.  
After he had saved her from being a card that time and they had the chance to see into their future, she would have never believed it even if she had seen it. Not in a million years and not even for all the jewels in Mobius....ok, well maybe.  
His kisses were far from loving and tender and sweet.  
They were fierce and hasty and powerful, as if he was trying to pour every last drop of emotion he had been holding back into her all at once. What he lacked in "experience" and "skill" with this sort of thing, he clearly made up for in sheer passion.

Shadow knelt up, finally breaking the kiss and taking a sharp breath of icy air between his teeth.  
Rouge stared at his half-lit face in the darkness and watched his beguiling, crimson eyes flicker and his white, furry chest rise and fall as he tried to catch his breath.  
She was panting too but she could feel the breath rattling through her chest with each desperate inhalation.  
This whole thing was so surreal...too perfect...too unreal.

"Shadow?"  
He looked down at her, raising a brow slightly. "Hm?" His voice was still ragged and deep.  
"Am I dreaming?" she asked with a smile curving across shiny, pink lips.  
"This whole thing does seem fairly unbelievable doesn't it?" he mused. "But seeing as I, for one, am awake and well...I highly doubt that this is all a figment of your imagination, ally."

Her smile stretched.  
He spoke in his usual gruff, low, husky voice but there was something about it she had only barely noticed before...something seductive about the way he spoke...something kind of sexy.  
The ebony hedgehog's eyes were tainted with seductive charm as he looked down at her. Not in the usual way he would look at her: the dismissive way if he was giving an order or the cold way he would look at her if she disobeyed or tried to stray away from the point of the mission, (it was all business with that hedgehog sometimes.)  
Sometimes it even felt like he was looking straight through her.  
But not this time. No, he was looking straight at her.

Rouge couldn't help herself, gazing into that darkly handsome face from leaning up and planting another series of soft, glossy kisses against his mouth and muzzle.  
He writhed, shutting his eyes at first as if he was enjoying it but then froze and ripped himself away from her and sat up again.  
She followed his movements, confused. Her wings folded in behind her, almost indignantly.  
"Shadow...what's wrong? What did I do wrong?"  
He leered back at her over his quills with burning red eyes. Eyes that burned with the same vengeance and ferocity he carried in battle and that set her off trembling all over, despite her normally headstrong, self-assured attitude.

Shadow growled. "You...confuse me."  
"How am I doing that?" she asked, trying to disguise the desperation in her voice. She was now willing to admit it: she wanted him. She'd always wanted him but never as much as this. The huntress had finally had the Ultimate life form with her and now at last there was no duty, no mission or life threatening monster/situation to block that impossible-to-deny chemistry and romantic tension between them.  
"I confuse you? How?"  
He nodded. "You make me feel things that I don't recognise...things I thought Maria had explained to me once before, but it would appear..." He growled. "I still don't understand them..."

She moved closer to him, cautiously. "What don't you understand? Talk to me Shadow. You said I've always been there for you...so let me be there for you now."  
Rouge could taste the power and sweetness of the words she was saying on the tip of her tongue; she had never been this sensitive to anyone else's feelings before.  
Shadow took a deep breath. "I once asked Maria to explain the concept of love to me."  
Rouge's eyes widened a little and her breath just about stopped in her throat. "Go on."

"She said it was a special warm feeling you get for someone else. That it goes beyond "affection" and it makes you want to do anything to make that person happy...I felt this love for Maria and now...I think I'm feeling it...for y-you...b-but...it's not the same kind...it's different."  
Now she really couldn't believe her own ears. Was SHADOW trying to say he LOVED her?  
"Sh-Shadow, I-"  
He cut across her. "I know..." He swallowed. "I know there is a different kind of love that organic beings experience...the doctor made me so that I could "experience" it too...the instinct is there...in my mind...but, I don't know how to res-respond to this..."

Rouge's mouth was dry, her heart was buzzing and her mind was plunged into her own thoughts again. She knew what he was trying to say but...SHADOW, of all people.  
And he was now saying he loved her?  
After all the times they had spent together, fighting together, searching together, being together...she had never once thought it would ever even be possible.  
"And maybe that's what held me back," she thought. "Thinking he was a weapon. Knowing that I could never come before his soul-searching life goals...before revenge, before Maria...but now he's talking to me like this..."

"How do you feel now Shadow?" she whispered, leaning her mouth in close to the velvety tip of his ear. "How do you really want t-to respond to th-this?"  
She was genuinely nervous of his response but nothing on Earth or Mobius could have prepared her for it.

He seized both her bare, tan arms in a tight, gloveless grasp and knelt up above her so that his lips dangled above the rim of her own ivory ear. She could still see his eyes though, beneath her long sooty eyelashes, glowing like rubies in a dark cave.  
His voice was deep and dark with a threatening note like always but his words were what sent shivers back down Rouge's spine.  
"I desire you, bat-girl."  
"You...desire...me?"  
"I despise you too, for making me want you so badly." His voice became fierce. "I have never felt this for another before. It angers me and confuses me and yet...I don't want this feeling to end..."  
Rouge leaned up against him, feeling a burning sensation beneath her skin, (in some places more than others), and whispered again: "Then let's not let it end."

She closed her eyes and leaned against his soft furry chest but not before taking his bare hand in hers. "I need you, Shadow the Hedgehog. Ultimate weapon or not, you've always been a dear friend and team-mate to me and I need you."

The first thing she felt were his fingers close down on hers.  
The first thing she saw as she opened her eyes slowly was a tiny smirk on Shadow's face.  
The first thing she heard was Shadow give a deep, breathless chuckle, saying: "I thought so."

Rouge looked up, for the first time a shred of the fearless, narcissist treasure hunter leaping back into her, and said "You thought so? Is that all you-"  
He silenced her, closing his mouth over hers and diving back into another soft yet powerful kiss.  
She could no longer suppress the moan building up in her throat as she felt his hands lightly skim down over waist and past her tail. He didn't protest when she dug her hands deeper into his quills and pulled herself even more tightly against him.  
Shadow shakily raised a hand and ran it along Rouge's back, along the sensitive spot between her neatly folded wings and to the nape of her neck.

"Ahh!" She gave a tiny gasp of pain and Shadow immediately withdrew, mouth surprised but eyes glowing with concern.  
"It's alright," she winced. "I just got a bit of a whack today off'a one of Eggie's robots and it left me with a nice bruise back there."  
Wordlessly, Shadow pushed her head forward, on to his shoulder and pressed his lips to the wound. Rouge gave a tiny gasp of ecstasy, feeling his tongue glaze over the tender spot.  
"Feel better?" he whispered softly.  
"Much better, thanks," was her breathless reply.

With that, the Ultimate lifeform forcibly dived back into another kiss.  
Rouge bent to his will, submitting herself in a way she thought she never would have been able to before. She trailed a hand gently down his chest, gently stroking the fur and caressing each layer of sleek, firm muscle.  
Then she froze, feeling something hard poke into her stomach.  
Her icy, aqua eyes dived downwards, recoiling a little in surprise; he was, well...larger than expected. "Sh-Shadow?!" she couldn't help but smirk teasingly. "Oh Shadow..."  
Shadow gave a gruff cry of surprise as his muzzle turned about 20 different shades of red, but his eyes remained fixed and firm. "I told you the doctor...made me like that."

The bat-girl's heart gave a flutter as she felt a knot that was slowly forming down below get considerably tighter. She trailed a hand slowly up and down his length and felt him moan and shudder under her touch. His entire body seemed to go limp, (well most of his entire body), as if for a brief moment, letting her take control.  
She moved up closer to him, grasping his member and listening to the swallowed grunts and murmurs that ensued. Rouge could hear his breath rattle through his teeth, almost like a hiss, as the Ultimate Lifeform desperately tried to keep control of his "Ultimate Weapon."

"Rouge...," he growled, eyes suddenly squeezing shut. "Ugh...I c-can't be like this...I..."  
She planted a kiss gently on his upturned lips and then, took his hands and guided them to trail down her body , all the way down to the lacy, silken hem of her night-gown.  
Taking over his own body again, Shadow's fingers skimmed along the hem, to the back where her tail peeked out from beneath and then, hesitantly...underneath so his knuckles could trace the bare skin of her thighs.  
The bat placed her hands over his and slowly moved them to the waistband of her panties, the soaked-satin rim.  
"Do you understand, Shadow?" she whispered, so quietly that he could pretend not to have heard if he wanted to. She had a reason to put the question, because well...maybe he hadn't learned about this, the way she had.  
He froze and then nodded, pulling back so that their eyes met again, hands still gripping her hips and waist beneath the nightgown. "Yes...and you want this Rouge?"  
She pulled herself against him, almost ashamed of the desperation in her voice. "Yes Shadow, more than anything..." Then thinking, she added "But maybe we should re-conveniate to my room..."  
After all, the guest bed was single, tiny and not to mention the room was right ne  
"Heh," Shadow smirked darkly. "Alright..."

Rouge tried to slip out of his arms but he only grabbed her tighter against him. A smile crept across her face.  
"You're kind of making this difficult for me, Shadow..."  
"Hmpf...I've got a faster way..."  
He reached across to the bedside table and pulled something bright and glowing from the drawer.  
"A chaos emerald?!"  
Shadow held up the emerald to illuminate his rather evil looking grin.  
"Shall we?"  
"Mm-hm."  
Strangely enough, Rouge's eyes were no longer locked on the precious, powerful stone she would have killed to possess but on the face of the new "object" she wanted to possess.

Mysterious brilliance....

He held her tightly against him and her heart leapt, hearing him softly shout the familiar words. "Chaos Control!"  
Chaos energy shot through both of their bodies and the next time the albino-furred bat opened her eyes, they were both kneeling on her bed, face to face in the dim, silver moonlight.  
For a moment all the two could do was stare at each other in awe and numb disbelief, and then...a kiss...

"I love you, Shadow the Hedgehog...thank god for you and your nightmares..."  
A deeper kiss followed and the ebony hedgehog could wait no longer.

Smiling darkly, Shadow pushed her head in against his chest and began to slip her panties down over her hips. She shivered at the first contact of bare flesh and then melted into his arms as her nightdress was swiftly removed, revealing every inch of her to him. Red eyes widened slightly as they traced the angelic figure before them.  
"Shadow..."  
Rouge moaned beneath his touch as he caressed every inch of the gleaming tanned skin that was exposed. She slipped her hand down to his shaft and felt his long, hardened form probe into her abdomen. He gasped in both pleasure and protest, before kneeling up above the bat-girl and whispering delicately into her ear: "Lie back."

Her wings folded in around herself once more as she spread herself back against the smooth lilac sheets, eyes glittering in anticipation at the sight of the dark male hedgehog positioning himself above her. His eyes were overcast with lust, yet something softer shone beneath- something Rouge had never seen before.  
Shadow's arms pinned her down on both sides, both glistening black biceps brushing against the sides of her face which he brought his own down to meet and adorn with kisses and tiny cat-licks once more.  
Rouge gave a gasp, feeling his member tease the outside of her rapidly-moistening entrance.  
And Shadow COULD tease when he wanted to.

He ran a hand down her cheek, under her neck, over her breasts, across her hips and along one thigh which he lifted and wrapped around his waist. The Ultimate Lifeform caught her eye and smirked again- making her want him more.  
Rouge draped a hand over his back, stroking his quills and pressing their bodies closer together.

Shadow lifted her neck, tilting her chin up to meet his eyes. "Ready...ally?"  
She smiled. "Whenever you are."

And with that, he swiftly pushed himself inside of her.  
He let out what sounded like a deep growl, his sharp teeth gritting against Rouge's lips.  
His first thrust was sharp- Shadow didn't do gentle- and unsure. His second was more confident, harder still and rhythmic. By his third, neither could contain the screams of ecstasy they had been refusing to let out before.

Along with a sharp pain, interwoven with extreme pleasure and her own strangled cries of passion, Rouge would recall Shadow's own soft moans above her-sounding like as if something had just awoken inside of him. As if gears in a machine were whirring slowly to life.  
Or a fire had just been ignited from a tiny spark.

Both learned something surprising about the other that night: Rouge-while naturally a bit vain and selfish- could definitely appreciate the needs and beauty of another if needed.  
And Shadow-despite being one of the fastest beings on earth and Mobius- definitely knew when to take things slowly and make them last.

That moment did last.  
The two of them, the ivory bat and ebony hedgehog, hot and shimmering under a sheen of purple satin and sweat could have sworn it lasted an eternity. An amazing, surreal, unbelievable eternity.  
Until they both let out a final cry and released themselves into the other, surrendering themselves to a force that neither could fight.

Under night-time's serene veil of moonlight, the treasure huntress and Ultimate Lifeform lay together, entwined beneath the bedsheets.  
Shadow gazed down at the silvery-furred beauty beside him and smiled.  
"This is what you meant, isn't it Maria?"

He stroked her forehead, watching her chest rise and fall with each of her soft breaths as she slept.  
Bringing his head down to hers, he gently nuzzled the side of her face, breathing in her sweet-perfumey scent and letting himself know that she was still there, with him.  
His ally. His team-mate. His friend.

"I love you too, Rouge."

Unknown to the hedgehog as he turned over to sleep, a pair of glossy pink lips stretched into a smile.


End file.
